"When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of 'thoughtlessness'. But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be Dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)
"Although we speak of koans, they are none other than Buddhism itself. We also say 'true aspect', 'suchness', 'the original face', 'the true Dharma', 'the Three Treasures', 'the subtle law', and so forth, to refer to the same thing. In other words, the word 'Buddhadharma' is a koan. In short, 'the true reality of the universe', 'the treasury of the true Dharma eye', 'the subtle mind of nirvana': these are all koans." (Eihei Dōgen, "Fukanzazengi" ["Discourse on Recommending Zazen to All People"], 1227)
"Know that the true dharma emerges of itself [during the practice of zazen], clearing away hindrances and distractions." (Eihei Dōgen, "Fukanzazengi" ["Discourse on Recommending Zazen to All People"], 1227)
"The zazen I speak of is not learning meditation. It is simply the Dharma gate of repose and bliss, the practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the manifestation of ultimate reality. Traps and snares can never reach it. Once its heart is grasped, you are like the dragon when he gains the water, like the tiger when she enters the mountain. For you must know that just there (in zazen) the right Dharma is manifesting itself and that, from the first, dullness and distraction are struck aside." (Eihei Dōgen, "Fukanzazengi" ["Discourse on Recommending Zazen to All People"], 1227)
"There can be no self in practising the path of the unfabricated, the Treasury of Luminosity, or views of self at all. Self and views are different names for the same thing, the face of a ghost or the face of a spirit. There is just this luminosity. It is not a matter of establishing any opinions about anything at all, from the views of self and what belongs to self or to ideas about the Buddha and the Dharma." (Koun Ejo, "Kōmyōzō zanmai" ["The Practice of the Treasury of Luminosity"], cca 13th century)
"Ever since the degeneration of discipline for enlightenment, they do not pay any respect to the transmission of Dharma from their masters; they have dualistic opinions of their enlightenment and kensho (seeing one’s own self-nature); they discuss the merits and demerits of each other and indulge in their own knowledge deviating from the Way of the ancients." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp" ["Shumon Mujinto Ron"], cca. 1800)
"Genuine insight into one's True Nature only emerges in the midst of Great Doubt and Great Faith; it is not the result of accumulated learning and discrimination. When the time is ripe, it appears of itself. Following this ripening process step by step is the purpose of this book. It is relatively easy to accomplish the important matter of insight into one's True Nature, but uncommonly difficult to function freely and clearly (according to this understanding), in motion and in rest, in good and in adverse circumstances. Please make strenuous and vigorous efforts towards this end, otherwise all the teachings of Buddha and patriarchs become mere empty words, rather than the living Dharma. Tread the path of sincere practice with uninterrupted concentration, and once things have become clear, then it is the time to take up and penetrate the sayings (of the Sutras and Masters)." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp" ["Shumon Mujinto Ron"], cca. 1800)
"To begin with, most people who practice zazen consciously try to make themselves empty. This is a grave mistake because you have thoughts about becoming empty, and it is futile to sit however long you may try to do so. For instance, suppose there is a bowl of rice. However long you may stare at it wishing it to become empty, the rice will never disappear. And the more you think of some clever way to make it disappear, the harder will it become for you to do so. While you keep on staring at it anticipating its disappearance with increasing impatience, evening will come. On the contrary, however, if you eat the rice right away according to the Dharma instead of wondering whether you should get rid of it or not, it will disappear as quickly as you wish. The same is true of zazen. As long as you are conscious of your wish to be empty, you will never succeed in becoming empty." (Kawajiri Hogin," The Shortcut to Zazen ["Zazen no Shokei"], 1904)
"If one does not remember death, one does not remember Dharma." (Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, "The Door to Satisfaction: The Heart Advice of a Tibetan Buddhist Master", 1994)
"Fundamentally, our four elements are void and the five aggregates (skandhas) are non-existent. It is only because of (our) wrong thoughts which grasp (everything) that we like the illusion of the (impermanent) world and are thereby held in bondage. Consequently, we are unable to (perceive) the voidness of the four elements and (to realize) the non-existence of birth and death. However, if in a single thought, we can have an experience of that which is not born, there will be no need for those Dharma doors expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha." (Xu Yun, "Discourses and Dharma Words", 1996)
"In order to meditate, it is very important to first identify what we are meditating on. If we meditate without identifying that, there is the danger it will become idiot meditation or idiot Dharma. If we do not first fully comprehend through listening and contemplating the meaning of what we are meditating on, how can we practice?" (Gyalwa Karmapa, "A Talk on How We Should Practice given", 2009)
"Much of our work is based on the use of our brains, by which I mean our intelligence. But compassion is something that arises or is present at a much deeper level of the mind, very much just as the roots of a tree - unlike its branches - are present within and beneath the ground." (Gyalwa Karmapa, 2000)
"The main purpose of dharma practice is to transform your mind." (Gyalwa Karmapa, "Karmapa's heart advice on Dharma practice", [article] 2014)
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